Stonefield
Mystic Stories

Stonefield had a relatively short life, releasing two albums between 1987 and 1990 then disbanding around 1992. A long time has passed since these guys showed a sign of life, the band was born I Austria but Manuel who is one of the founding members have since relocated to Spain and recently he found the old tapes. Never really satisfied with the sound of the early albums he wanted to have another go but time had taken its toll on the tapes so they had to be baked at the right temperature in order to regain its past qualities. Manuel did these things and went on to mix and master the songs a bit differently so with tracks from the debut and the second album we get a small compilation that is very much remastered and remixed. But is it any good?

It is pretty clear that it is an album of the eighties, it sounds like many albums from that era. Inspired by bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Uriah Heep and more it is an album of classic hard rock with some touches of doom and some progressive additions. Perhaps not particularly original but the sound gives the album a fairly interesting sound that should set them a little bit apart from many albums in the same bracket. The fact that song selection seems to have been weighted well to make the album sensible in playing time is also a positive aspect. It is a well-sounding and nostalgic-sounding album that presents an idealised picture of the eighties hard rock, and it would not be wrong to claim that Manuel did a good job with his rework of these recordings.

Pretty good Mystic Stories is presented to us here and I think it may appeal to many. Sure, there are some arguments against; like the somewhat dated sound, the lack of an outstanding hit song, and some strange pauses between songs and one or two songs that end a bit abrupt or strange. But nostalgia is a strong force today as people seem to be very occupied dreaming up a better past than actually doing something about the present and here is one more of those nostalgic blasts from the past. But it is probably thanks to more modern thinking that it actually sounds a lot better now and that Manuel finally got to be more satisfied with the sound of these songs. But is it really worth it?

The answer depends on your outlook on life or music. If you are a nostalgic person you will most likely find this album very appealing. I think most people will like this album as it offers good songs and so on, it isn’t bad in any way. I do however doubt that too many will jump from joy or do any other ecstatic demonstrations over how great the album is, it works and it is solid but not a standout release. These Mystic Stories are nicely told and can be enjoyed but I doubt they will make a long lasting impression.

HHHHHHH